Bronx DA Assigns Special Transit Prosecutor

B/O José Rondon suffered a broken nose in a recent assault
B/O José Rondon suffered a broken nose in a recent assault

Thanks to TWU's relentless advocacy to stop the outrageous number of assaults on our members on the job, the Bronx District Attorney has assigned Catherine Davis, Deputy Chief for Special Investigations, the task of handling all assaults on our members above or below ground. 

This is an important step forward to ensure that our members, when attacked, have a high level advocate in the Bronx DA's office to aggressively pursue prosecution of those responsible. This action comes after Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered the MTA to institute a reward program for passengers who provide information leading to the arrest of perps responsible for transit assaults.

The Governor's and the Bronx DA's action, and the actions of other DA's and police across the City to reduce the frequency of transit worker assaults, are a direct result of the our advocacy and our TWU/MTA Assault Conference on May 10. 

The Bronx DA's important action ironically, comes after three more assaults on our members (two in the Bronx and one in Brooklyn). Bus Operator and Kingsbridge union vice chair, José Rondon  had his nose broken and suffered other lacerations and bruises in an unprovoked attack in the Bronx. Another member was attacked by a person with a cane in Brooklyn, and a third Operator had hot coffee thrown in her face by an irate passenger who missed her appointment at a local methadone clinic. 

MABSTOA Vice President Brian Clarke, Division II Chair Frank Austin, Kingsbridge Chair Richard
Fields, Staff Representative John Jimison, and the Bus Operator Action Committee (BOAC) all deserve kudos for their work to bring down the number of assaults. 

TWU officers met with the ADA handling the assault of Bus Operator José Rondon. Catherine Davis attended the meeting to advise the union of her new assignment as special prosecutor for alltransit assaults. This not only secures prosecution, it also affirms that assaults on our operators will not be taken lightly.